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The explosions have not been confirmed to be a Ukrainian attack. According to eyewitnesses, the explosions occurred at the Novofedorivka airfield near the town of Saki in western Crimea. Eyewitnesses said they heard at least 12 explosions within a minute, followed by another, larger blast about 30 minutes later, and saw a pillar of black smoke rising shortly afterwards. The Russian Defense Ministry claims no aircraft were harmed, and the explosions were due to an ammo depot explosion as the result of an “accident.” The Russian occupation governor of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, that one person was killed and another 14 were injured in the event. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has said that it cannot establish the cause of the fire at the airfield.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force Command, the explosions destroyed up to ten aircraft, as well as an aircraft weapons depot. “Su-34, Su-24 aircraft, possibly helicopters, were hit,” says UAF spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense sarcastically mentioned the importance of observing fire safety rules and bans on smoking in no-smoking zones.
This bridge is last route for automobile supplies to the Russian garrison in Kherson, rending Russian supply lines nearly unusable. Ukraine’s strategy in the liberation of Kherson has been to bleed the Russian reinforcements in the region dry, denying them access to basic logistics capability. Ukraine continues to conduct limited liberation missions into Kherson while degrading Russian warfighting capability and morale.
Previously, martial law had been extended to Aug. 23. This time, according to opposition Holos party MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the extension this time "unfortunately, it will be quite long.” A new decree on mobilization will also be introduced, he said. This means that restrictions on traveling abroad for mobilized citizens will also stay in place. Currently, men between the ages of 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country without a medical exception, or permission from the government.
Ihor Markov, the ex-MP in question, is wanted in connection with charges including justification of Russian aggression against Ukraine, collaboration, and encroaching on Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Markov took the Russian side during the Euromaidan protests, and fled to Italy following the ouster of fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych. While he was arrested in 2015 in the resort town of San Remo, local courts at the time did not approve Markov’s extradition to Ukraine. Markov is now thought to reside in Moscow.
A dozen or so units of the APCs can be seen in a video posted by a Ukrainian military unit, and around 150 in total are expected. Kirpi APCs are equipped with seat dampers, a GPS system, a rear view camera and an automatic fire extinguishing system, and can be armed with a 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun and is also available with remote controlled weapon stations.
“Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) Arup Banerji signed an agreement to provide Ukraine with a grant of $4.5 billion,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance reported. The bulk of the grant funds were supplied by the United States, as part of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund. It will be used to provide pension benefits and to fund selected government social assistance programs.
The day’s long read: Two main theories on how Russian air base in Novofedorivka was partially destroyed.
Speculation on the cause of the destruction at the airfield at Novofedorivka has been rife. In this analysis, NV looks into two possible explanations for the explosions at the site.
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